ComTech officials introduced a change in policy this semester, no longer requiring students to have telephones in their dorm rooms, causing the department a loss in revenue, according to officials.

Student Services Supervisor BJ Attarian of ComTech said he thinks the decision is a sensible one.

“We had, as time has gone on, essentially more and more students bring cell phones and come to us, requesting to opt out of the required fee,” he said.

According to Attarian, of the approximately 8,000 students who live on campus, only 300 have local phone service this semester.

“[Requiring local phone service] was a huge revenue generator for us,” he said.

Before this semester, students living on campus had to pay a flat fee each semester. However, because ComTech had students requesting not to pay the fee, ComTech officials decided to allow students to choose whether they wanted a land line in their dorm rooms or not.

“We checked with Campus Police about liability issues, and the police were fine with it,” Attarian said.

Some students said they still pay for the service because their parents want to feel that their children are safe in case of emergencies.

“My parents wanted to make sure I had a land line,” Elyse Boykin, a freshman in natural resources policy and administration, said. “So … if the power went out or something, they could reach me.”

Boykin said it was important to her mother, especially.

“My mom made me get it,” she said. “She was bugging me.”

Other students said they would rather just carry a cell phone.

“I wouldn’t want to pay that even though I get horrible reception in my room,” Casey Wade, a freshman in First Year College, said.

The local service package costs $117 per semester per line and includes Triangle-wide calling, voicemail, call waiting, three-way calling and caller ID.

“We want to serve our customers as best we can,” Attarian said. “We should do what they want, and they didn’t want local phone service. We’re better serving students’ needs now — it’s there if people want it.”